EA Injects Zany Medical Mayhem with Operation Mania

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The Hasbro family favorite goes digital online and at retail.

By IGN Staff

What do you do when you are the doctor and someone comes into your hospital with butterflies in their stomach, water on the knee, and a frog in the throat? Operate of course! From EA's casual games site Pogo.com comes Operation Mania - a new twist on the classic Operation board game from Hasbro. Become an expert surgeon as you admit, diagnose and treat patients with the zaniest ailments in healthcare history. Play as Dr. Humerus who is an up and coming surgeon as he builds his reputation and is called in to save the day at five different hospitals in fun and wacky locations.

Race against the clock to send a variety of patients including well-known and beloved Cavity Sam through a series of treatment stations. Perform surgery and become an expert surgeon by completing micro-games reminiscent of the board game. Be quick and effective with treatment before the patient's nose starts flashing and time is up! Operation Mania will be available online at Pogo.com in North America and the U.K. in August and at retail in North America in September for $19.95.

Key features of Operation Mania include:

-Hospital management: Diagnose and treat both standard and emergency patients, and run them through a gauntlet of medical procedures including admissions, x-ray and of course operations!

-Unique hospital settings: Advance through 35 levels and five hospitals in different regions on a wacky continent.

-Two game modes: Rise through the ranks in Story Mode or go for a challenge in Marathon Mode to care for patients as long as possible and experiment with endless upgrade combinations.

-Micro-games: Show surgical finesse by completing micro-games with a steady hand. The bite sized challenges are reminiscent of the board game that people have come to know and love.

-Upgrade the hospital: Spend money earned curing patients to buy upgrades for the hospital, including better equipment, faster service and additional staff.

-Multiplayer: Overcrowded waiting rooms can be alleviated by referring patients to friends and family online.

Pogo General Manager Andrew Pedersen said, "We are delighted to bring Hasbro's Operation to the digital medium for the first time ever. Our goal was to stay true to a game loved by so many while giving it its own unique heart beat. By blending the urgency of time management with fun Operation micro-games inspired by the board game, we're giving people a new way to play and enjoy a timeless classic."

"Operation Mania challenges virtual doctors of all ages to scrub in and test their operating room skills," said Mark Blecher, General Manager of Hasbro Digital Media and Gaming. "The Pogo.com team has done a fantastic job of taking the popular 40-year old brand and digitally bringing it to life by animating Cavity Sam, introducing new characters and settings, and creating more ways to play."

For more information and to experience some of the best online games on the Internet, visit www.pogo.com. For screenshots and assets, please visit info.ea.com.

About Pogo.com

Pogo.com is the #1 stickiest online destination in the US1. The site is home to over 14 million unique visitors a month (worldwide) who play for more than 69 minutes a day1. Boasting a wide variety of more than 100 free online games including puzzle, word, casino, classic card and board, Pogo.com features both single-player and multiplayer games. The site offers players an easy-to-use chat feature where millions of people talk about their favorite games, best scores, or simply share stories about their lives. Pogo.com is known for its thriving online community of players who forge life-long friendships through the site. Pogo has local sites and communities in UK (pogo.co.uk) and Germany (pogo.de). Pogo.com's premium service, Club Pogo, offers players a variety of VIP features including exclusive games, no ad interruptions, private chat and avatars. Club Pogo had over 1.62 million paying subscribers at the end of fiscal 2008.

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTSTM, EATM, EA SPORTS Freestyle TM and POGOTM. In fiscal 2008, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.67 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. About Hasbro

Hasbro (NYSE:HAS) is a worldwide leader in children's and family leisure time entertainment products and services, including the design, manufacture and marketing of games and toys ranging from traditional to high-tech. Both internationally and in the U.S., its PLAYSKOOL, TONKA, MILTON BRADLEY, PARKER BROTHERS, TIGER, CRANIUM and WIZARDS OF THE COAST brands and products provide the highest quality and most recognizable play experiences in the world.